Workers at Opel’s Rüsselsheim plant are not as secure as they thought, with a key decision about whether to build the next Saab 9-3 at the plant still not made.
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According to Automobilwoche, GM is considering whether to build the redesigned 9-3 on its new global compact architecture, which Rüsselsheim is not set up for. If it does use this technology, then the chances are it will continue to be built at Saab’s Trollhättan plant in Sweden, alongside a new entry-level 9-1 model.
Opel Rüsselsheim had been counting on building around 80,000 9-3s are year as a means to getting closer to its full capacity. It is expecting to build around 140,000 units of the Vectra replacement, the Insignia, but full capacity at the plant is 275,000 units a year.
Some other decisions also need to be made before an agreement with workers to guarantee the future of the plant can be concluded. GM is reportedly looking at opportunities for outsourcing some jobs, such as security or the emergency fire service, reducing its direct workforce at the plant by around 1,000 people.
As a result of the decision-making process, the next 9-3’s launch could be delayed. The car had originally been planned for introduction in the second half of 2010, but now it could be delayed until 2012, a GM worker told Automobilwoche. Plant works council chair Klaus Franz had said at the end of last year that the future of the plant was guaranteed until 2018, having secured agreements to build the Saab 9-3 and 9-5, as well as a crossover on the global midsize architecture at the plant.
